Amber
by mmok
Summary: Shanks was a strange man. He was usually goofy,but then he would get angry in a second. He was very strong, but he did not abuse of his power. He boasted a lot, and yet remained considerably humble. He was the strangest person that I had met. And yet, he gave me a name. He is my savior. My strange savior. One-shot.


Red Haired Shanks scrutinized the child before him.

His eyes reflexively narrowed.

Disgustingly malnourished body, wounds and infections all over his body.

Like his epithet, he felt red.

* * *

_"You are a monster. And monsters like you belong to places like this. Isolated, dark and alone. This is __where you belong."_

A pair of amber eyes peered the man before him, beneath his long raven bangs.

They didn't hold recognisation.

He didn't know this man.

He never saw him.

But he was curious.

Not because of the three scars.

Not because of his red hair.

Not because of his missing limb.

No.

He had already seen a fair share of them in his short yet not so short 12 years of life.

It was his eyes.

His steely grey eyes, that looked into his amber ones with an unfamiliar gaze.

He knew the look, but had never been the end of it.

**It was the first time.**

* * *

"Who are you?"

Shanks relaxed his features when he heard the voice. A boy's voice judging by the slight boyish tone.

Raspy, uneven, broken. It wasn't a child's voice.

"My name is Shanks. I'm a pirate."

_"Pirates are the scum of the universe. They suit you very well."_

His eyes shone a bit.

He wants to know this Shanks.

He was like him.

**It was the first time.**

* * *

The Emperor came closer to the cell.

Disheveled long raven hair filled with dirt, and soaked in dried blood. Clearly not having been taken care of for a long time.

Big amber eyes bore into his.

Despite the warm color, they held more coldness than the rusty cell that the other was in.

They were like winter.

"What is your name?" he asked.

The boy blinked his eyes.

He was surprised. Not in an unpleasant way.

It wasn't like the usual surprises that he received. It wasn't like getting more pain than expected. No. It wasn't like knowing that his 'caretaker' would suddenly inflict him with whatever punishment that he came with. No.

It was pure surprise.

No pain.

No laughs.

Just surprise.

**It was the first time.**

* * *

"You're strange."

It was the red haired pirate's turn to blink.

Definetely not the first time that he heard it, but unlike the other times,

he didn't know the cause for the other's reaction.

The boy was stranger than him.

"Hahaha I guess."

The boy flinched.

Was that... A laugh?

No... It couldn't be... Laughs were scary and cold.

They were not... warm?

They weren't. They just weren't.

"So, will you tell me your name?" Asked Shanks one more time.

The boy broke away from his thoughts.

He took in the question. Never having heard it before.

**It was the first time.**

* * *

_"Something like you doesn't deserve a name. That is only a privilege reserved for those who actually have someone to remember them. You definetely don't possess that someone."_

"Experiment PF-129. You can call me that." Said the boy, his voice a few degrees colder than before.

Shanks looked at the boy with compassion.

His eyes travelled up and down the other's form. But his mind had went back to the past. To a fateful day. Ten years ago.

_"I'll gather a crew stronger than yours! I'll find the biggest of the treasures! I'll become the PIRATE KING!"_

"...What is your dream?"

_"Be happy. You should be happy that I allowed you to live and actually letting your twisted existence to be useful. You should be happy."_

"I... I don't want to be happy."

"What is being 'happy'?" Shanks's tightened his fists. Reflexively.

"... Happy is... Cold... Painful, lonely, dark, scary... I hate it."

Shanks's eyes shadowed.

Nobody was there to teach the basic of the most basic feelings to the boy. Nobody. Definetely not his supposed 'caretaker' who wasn't thankfully, here. Not anymore.

Just him. Alone.

He outstretched his hand towards the boy.

He had made his decision.

"Come with me. I'll teach you what happiness is."

But the other merely shook his head.

"I can't."

"And why's that?"

"Because I already know what happiness is." He did. He knew what being happy was.

So it was meaningless for the other to teach him. It was... What it was?...

Right. A waste of time. It would be a waste of time.

"You don't. You don't know what true happiness is." Retorted Shanks, never losing his patience.

_"Your life is limited to these bars. You will remain here until you die."_

The boy shook his head again.

"I still can't."

"And why's that?"

A small, thin finger pointed to the bars. His fingers were too thin.

"I'm stuck inside here. I can't get out. I don't deserve it." He was a monster. He couldn't forget it.

Shanks only smiled gently and touched the boy's hand with his own.

The boy's hand was cold. But it was okay. He would make it warm again.

The young boy widened his eyes.

This warm. This soothing feeling. This foreign feeling in his chest.

This sudden brightening of the dark cell.

**It was the first time.**

* * *

"Warm..." He whispered, small water formed in his eyes. Tears?

Why was he crying? He did not feel any pain.

So why?

He leaned in to the warm hand.

It was warm yet rough.

It was strong yet gentle.

Shanks smiled gently.

The boy was not cold anymore.

Not entirely warm, but definetely not cold anymore.

He was slowly becoming like his eyes.

Amber.

A beautiful color.

Shanks stretched his other hand to ruffle the raven hair.

His smile then, turned to a full stretched grin.

"Cyro."

The boy blinked in confusion.

He did not recognize the word.

And once again, he was surprised when he saw the bright smile that the other gave him.

Such a strange man.

He liked him.

More than his caretaker, who he spent all of his life with.

"That is your name now."

Tears sprang down his face again.

Name? He got a name? Him?

"Cyro..." He tried the word with his tongue.

"Cyro... Cyro... Cyro... Cyro... Cyro... CyroCyroCyroCyroCyroCyroCyroCyroCyroCyroCyroCyroCyroCyroCyr-"

"Whoa... Calm down... You don't need to say it so many times... You have a lifetime to say it."

Newly named Cyro felt arms around him.

He did his best to muffle his sobs, he shouldn't be crying when he was happy. Maybe before, but that was because he didn't know what being happy was.

Now he knew.

"Neh Cyro? Do you know what it means?" Asked Shanks, as he patted the boy's back.

He chuckled when he received a shake of head as response.

He didn't regret of taking in the child. And he knows that he would never.

His hands then cupped both Cyro's thin and wet cheeks.

His gentle eyes bore into puffy amber ones.

Then a smile appeared on his face.

Full of certainty. Full of another feeling that Cyro's young mind couldn't quite place.

"It means sun."

Cyro felt his eyes shining as his lips formed a delighted smile. He felt warm inside.

**It was the first time.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. Nor the Cover image.**

**English is not my mother language, so please, bear with me.**


End file.
